Motor-vehicle



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

, G. H. HI LL.

\ MOTOR VEHICLE.

No. 601,205. Patented Mar. 22, 1898;

I Ailarney (No Model) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 G. H. HILL! MOTOR VEHICLE.

No. 601,205. I Patented Mar. 22, 1898.

Altarney THE NORRXS PETERS 00., PHOTO-LITHO wnsnmu'rom n. c.

I UNITED j STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE H. I-IILL, on MILFORD, OHIO.

MOTO R-VEHIC LE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 601,205, dated March 22, 1898.

Application filed March 26, 189.7.

ful Improvements in Motor-Vehicles; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to motor-vehicles. My object is to provide improved mechanism for motor-vehicles whereby the vehicle can be propelled backward or forwardwithout necessitating a reversal of the motor.

A further object is to provide improved mechanism whereby power can be applied through the wheels of the vehicle by a minimum expenditure of energy on the part of the claims.

each other and to the axis of rotation.

motor.

A still further object is to provide novel mechanism for taking up lost motion in the traction-wheels when the vehicle is turned, together with improved steering mechanism for simultaneously turning the steering-wheel equally in the same direction.

Having the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain improved devices whose construction will be more fully set forth hereinafter and the novel features thereof embodied in the appended In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of the vehicle; Fig. 2, a plan view; Fig. 3, a detail view of the pivotal connection of one of the steering-wheels; Fig. 4, a detail perspective view of portions of the gears carried by the drivewheel and the pinion; Fig. 5, a detail view showing the rollers of the sliding bar that raises and lowers the hinged frame, and Fig. 6 a view of the improved driving-shaft.

The frame of the vehicle is designated by the numeral 1. The rear axle is shown at 2, and 3 3-are the traction-wheels. There are two gear-rims 4 and 5 secured to each traction-wheel, the former being an internal gear and the latter an external gear,and the same are disposed concentrically with relation to They are secured to the spokes by U-shaped clips 6, whose legs straddle the spokes and pass nals 16, received in the frame.

Serial N... 629,382. (No model.)

through ears 7 on the rim and are provided with nuts. The outer gear has a broad rim to protect the teeth from snow and ice or foreign fmaterial, and bothrims are provided with flanges to prevent end thrust of the pinions, which will be described presently. There is an auxiliary frame 8, which has its forward end hinged to the main frame, and it extends back between the rear traction-wheels. My improved driving-shaft is carried by this auxiliary frame. This shaft consists of a center section 9 and end sections 10 and 11. The center, section has a driving-gear 12 and has reducedjournals 13, received in the frame. The motor employed is geared to the gear 12. Theends of the center section are provided with conical boxes 14. Rigidly secured to the said ends are clutch members 15. The end sections are provided with reduced jour- The inner ends of the end sections are reduced and made conical or tapering at 17 and fit snugly yet easily in the concavities 14. On the end sections, which together with the center section are square in cross-section, are located slid- .able clutch-sections 18, adapted to engage with the clutch-sections 15.

The numerals 19 designate washers fixed on said end sections, and 20 represent springs coiled around the end sections and interposed between the washers and the slidable clutchsections, said springs being adapted to keep said slidable sections normally in engagement with the fixed clutch-sections 15 of the center section. Pinions 21 are secured to the outer ends of the end sections and project in be tween the gear-rims 4. and 5 of the respective wheels. Metal housings 22 are employed to protect the end sections and clutch mechanism from snow, sleet, &c.

The advantage of the aforesaid construction of driving-shaft will be apparent, inasmuch as there will be no drag when turning, for, while the center and end sections move as an entirety when the vehicle is proceeding in a straight line, yet as soon as turning is attempted the outer traction-wheel or the one that describes the larger arc will have to rotate faster in order to allow the vehicle to turn, and its clutch 18 will break engagement with the clutch 15, so that said traction-wheel will rotate idly, while the inner or pivot traction-wheel will rotate with the same speed as before. As soon as the vehicle is proceeding in a straight line the locked engagement will again be had. It will be observed that the pinions are of considerablyless diameter than the space between the gear-rims, and hence are adapted for free play. It is also to be observed that said pinions are located above the journals of the traction-wheels and in a substantially vertical plane. The great advantage of this position is that the leverage between the applied power- 2'. 0., the pinions and the f ulerumi. e. the point of contact of the traction-wheel rim with the groundis very great, being considerably greater than if the power were applied to the axle direct. As a consequence much greater power can be had with less expenditure of energy than would otherwise be possible. 'It will be apparent that when the pinions mesh with the external gear 5 the vehicle will be propelled in one direction and when meshing with the internal gears lthe vehicle will be propelled in the other direction, so that it can go forward or backward without necessitating the reversal of the motor.

The numerals 23 designate shifting bars located at the sides of the machine and each being provided with a lower set of rollers 2t and an upper set 25. The side bars of the main frame are received between the rollers of the lower set, and the side bars of the auxiliary frame are received between the rollers of the upper set. There is a crank-shaft 2G journaled to the main frame, and Y-shaped rods 27 connect the arms of this crank-shaft with the shifting bars. Said crank-shaft has an additional arm 28, and there is a controlling-lever 29, said controlling-lever being connected to the arm 28 by a rod 30. There is a toothed plate 30, adapted to lock the controlling-lever. It will be observed that by shifting this controlling-lever the shifting bar will be moved and the auxiliary frame raised or lowered, as the case may be, whereby the pinions are either thrown into engagement with the internal rim or the external rim and either backward or forward movement can be obtained at the will of the operator.

The forward axle of the machine is shown at 31. The numeral 32 designates a circular gear pivoted at 33 and provided with braces 34, which converge to a shaft 35, provided with a crank-handle 36, adapted for reception in a notch 37 in the dashboard. The steering-wheels are shown at 38 and 39, the same being mounted on spindles of upper and lower segmental racks 40 and ll, located above and below the axle 31 and pivoted thereto on the bolt t2. These racks mesh with the gear 32 at diametrically opposite points. It will be observed that by turning the crank-handle the wheels are simultaneously inclined at equal degrees, so that turning can be rapidly effected. The notch is employed to hold the lever or handle when the vehicle is progressing in a straight line,

so as to take the strain off of the operator. Balls can be located under the upper segmental racks to diminish the friction, if desirable.

If desirable, instead of employing the circle gear 32 the segmental rack 40 can be connected to the knees of the toggle-levers 4.4, as shown in dotted lines, which toggle-levers are connected to the main frame, as shown in the drawings. I have heretofore set forth the advantages of the different mechanisms, but will now briefly state that the vehicle can be propelled with a minimum expenditure of power and can be steered and controlled with ease. Either a compressed-air motor, electric motor, or gas-engine can be employed as a propelling agent, but the same does not enter into the present invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is

1. In a motor-vehicle,the combination with a frame and traction-wheels, of external and internal gears arranged concentrically and connected to the wheels, an auxiliary frame hinged to the main frame, a shaft carried by the auxiliary frame, pinions on the ends of said shaft which are adapted for free play between the external and internal gears, and mechanism for moving the auxiliary frame.

2. In a motor-vehicle, the combination with a main frame, of traction-wheels, internal and external gear-rims connected to the traction wheels and arranged concentrically, an auxiliary frame hinged to the main frame, a shaft carried by the auxiliary frame, pinions on the end of the shaft which are adapted for free play between the internal and external rims and to engage therewith, shifting bars through which portions of the auxiliary frame slide and which are slidable on the main frame, and means for moving the said shifting bars.

3. I11 a motor-vehicle, the combination with a main frame, of traction-wheels, external and internal gear-rims connected to the traction-wheels, an auxiliary frame hinged to the main frame, pinions carried by the auxiliary frame adapted to play between the gear-rims and to engage therewith, shifting bars havin g sets of friction-rollers between which portions of the main and auxiliary frames are loosely received, a crank-shaft journaled to the main frame, rods leading from the crankshaft to the shifting bars, and a controllinglever for operating the crank-shaft.

4. In a motor-vehiele,the combination with a frame and traction-wheels, of a drivingshaft for said wheels, comprising a center section adapted to be driven by a motor, clutches secured thereto, end sections independent of the center section and adapted for operating the traction-wheels, and releasable clutches carried by said end sections normally engaging the clutches on the center section.

5. In a motor-vehicle, the combination with a frame, of traction-wheels and a drivingshaft comprising a center section adapted to be driven by a motor and having bearingpockets in its ends, clutches secured to the center section, end sections for turning the .tracti0n-wheels, and which have journals received in the bearing-pockets, and springactuated clutches carriedby said end sections.

6. In a motor-vehicle, the combination with a frame, of traction-wheels and a drivingshaft comprising a center section adapted to be driven by a motor, clutches secured to said center section, squared end sections for turning the traction-wheels,washers located there- 

